Black Gold 1983

The sound of a tractor came from the dirt road in the distance, coming from the direction of the mine gate. It should be a convoy transporting gangue to the coal yard to the east. The sound came from afar and then went away again until it disappeared completely.

Han Changhe took out cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Renye, and lit one for himself.

The uncle and nephew squatted on the cement steps outside the warehouse.

"Nephew." Han Changhe put a cigarette in his mouth and squinted at a row of red brick factory buildings in the distance.

"To tell you the truth, although there hasn't been a clear notification from above regarding the disbandment of Teams Three and Four yet."

"But I estimate that the elimination of the three teams is now a done deal."

Upon hearing this news, Renye was not surprised: "It must have been Xu Hongbing who was behind this. After all, I ruined his son's engagement party."

"That's only part of the reason," Han Changhe did not deny. "Even if he could control personnel appointments and dismissals, he couldn't have absolute power over the mine."

Ren Ye frowned slightly, and Han Changhe continued, "Do you know where Tian Mancang's third team ranked in terms of output last year?"

"Last place." Han Changhe said it for him: "Let's not talk about Team One and Team Two for now. Your Uncle Mancang's Team Three and Zhao Dehai's Team Four are both ordinary harvesters, using similar equipment and having about the same number of people, but look at their output."

"Team Three can only produce a maximum of 300 tons a day, while Team Four easily produces over 500 tons a day. Same equipment, same people, but the output is half as much—how can you compare?"

"Team Three did a good job with safety," Renye said.

"Safety?" Han Changhe scoffed. "Safety is indeed the top priority, but you have to see what the higher-ups want right now."

"The bureau is very strict about production targets. The mine manager only cares about output and ranking. As long as no one dies, who cares about minor bumps and scrapes? Why did Zhao Dehai's fourth team get away with all the minor injuries last year? Because their output speaks for itself. No matter how safe your third team is, if your output doesn't go up, it's not good enough in the eyes of the mine leaders."

He took a drag of his cigarette and softened his tone: "Nephew, I have something to tell you, but don't tell anyone else."

Renye nodded.

"Hongxing Mine is currently ranked second to last in the bureau."

"Last year's total output was 830,000 tons. The top-ranked Fenghuangshan Mine produced 1.8 million tons. That's a difference of nearly one million tons. What does that mean? It's equivalent to the output of an entire medium-sized mine!"

Renye frowned.

"This year, the bureau held a 'Striving for Excellence and Meeting Standards' competition. Safety, output, cost, and efficiency were the four indicators used for comprehensive scoring. The top-ranked mines received policy support, funding, and equipment from the bureau. The bottom-ranked mines... well, you can imagine."

"So production volume is the top priority now?" Renye asked.

"Safety is certainly important, but as long as there are no major accidents and no deaths, production output is the key indicator."

Renye fell silent.

These words sound cruel, but they are indeed a true reflection of state-owned coal mines in the 1980s.

In the early stages of reform and opening up, the country's demand for coal experienced explosive growth.

For industry to develop, for power plants to generate electricity, and for people to keep warm, none of these can do without coal.

In 1978, the national output of raw coal was more than 600 million tons, and by 1983, this figure had approached 800 million tons.

The increase of nearly 200 million tons in five years, an average annual increase of 40 million tons, was entirely due to the efforts of major mining bureaus.

In this context, output is the only thing that matters.

The mining bureau's assessment of its subordinate coal mines includes a production output weighting of over 40%.

The output of a mine directly determines its status within the bureau, the amount of investment it can obtain, and even the career path of its manager.

Hongxing Mine, as a standard state-owned key coal mine, was rated as a "Class III mine" within the mining bureau system.

This rating is based on a comprehensive assessment of output, safety, and efficiency, with Category 1 being the best and Category 3 being the worst.

Ratings may seem abstract, but in reality, they can be a major obstacle at every turn.

For Class A mines, equipment is allocated preferentially, funds are disbursed preferentially, and key technical personnel are given priority.

Category II minerals are next.

Category III mines? Just wait, the best equipment and policies will be given to others first, and only what's left will be your turn.

The MLS3-170 fully mechanized mining equipment at Hongxing Mine was "taken care of" by the bureau.

Fenghuangshan Mine and Wangjialing Mine started using fully mechanized mining two years ago, and their output skyrocketed. Hongxing Mine negotiated with the bureau for more than a year before finally getting the deal.

It's said that it's not brand new; it's a set that was spared from the batch produced by the coal machinery factory for the Fenghuangshan Mine.

"Zhao Dehai, that kid, may not be the best of people, but he's got some skills. His fourth team averaged 16,000 tons per month last year, which is pretty good in the whole mining bureau."

Renye didn't respond.

Zhao Dehai, the captain of the fourth coal mining team, is in his early forties. Although he is considered to be a person with connections, he is indeed a ruthless man.

This person's greatest skill is extracting coal.

The fourth team's coal mining face has a fast cutting speed, fast setup speed, and fast transportation speed, making its overall pace much faster than other teams.

The workers under his supervision were almost never idle.

Back then, he and his father, Ren Shouyi, were evenly matched.

Renye was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Uncle Han, if Team Three is really cut, what will happen to those people?"

Han Changhe glanced at him but didn't say anything.

"There are over seventy or eighty people. Most of them have worked in the mine for more than ten years, some for almost twenty. They don't have any other skills; they don't know anything except how to mine coal. If they're laid off, where will they go?"

"The mine will make arrangements," Han Changhe said somewhat vaguely, "such as job transfers or labor export; there are always more solutions than problems."

Renye couldn't help but laugh.

Job transfer?

Labor export?

In the early 1980s, these terms sounded nice, but in reality, they were a disguised form of layoffs.

Where can coal miners go after being reassigned? Can they sweep floors, guard the gate, or work as waiters in the canteen?

"As for the Third Team's affairs, your Uncle Han can't be of much help. Whether or not to lay off staff is up to the mine leaders. As the head of the electromechanical department, I can't make any waves."

"However," Han Changhe changed the subject, "I can speak on matters concerning the comprehensive mining team."

Renye's eyes lit up, and he turned to look at him.

"The establishment of the fully mechanized mining team at the mine is led by the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department. I set the standards for personnel selection and the assessment methods. The labor and personnel department and the mine manager mainly go through the motions with the submitted list; as long as it's not too outrageous, they generally won't reject it."

Han Changhe took out another cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a puff, and began to explain to him, counting on his fingers.

"The full-strength mining team has a quota of 21 people. We need to select the best candidates from all the coal mining teams in the mine. We can't just put people in randomly. I plan to openly recruit people from all the teams in the mine. Who gets promoted and who gets demoted will be determined by their actual abilities."

"Openly recruiting?"

"When does registration begin?"

Early April.

Renye quickly did the math in his head.

It's mid-March now, and there are still two weeks until early April.

In just half a month, he managed to get the three teams to master the basic operating principles of the MLS3-170 and the common knowledge of hydraulic systems. This was something most people wouldn't even dare to dream of, but for him, it was something he could give it a try.

He was well aware of the learning characteristics of frontline miners: these people couldn't accept theory, but they were quick to learn and willing to put in the effort.

By breaking down complex principles into simple and easy-to-understand steps, creating catchy and easy-to-remember mnemonics, and then practicing repeatedly, you can achieve a qualified and proficient level in just half a month without having to study books or delve into profound theories.

"Half a month is enough," Renye said.

"What's enough?" Han Changhe asked knowingly.

Renye grinned and said, "Uncle Han, could I train the people in Team Three myself?"

"I read the book 'Use and Maintenance of Coal Mining Machinery' published by the Coal Industry Press in the library before. I can draw the hydraulic system diagram and electrical schematic diagram roughly. I can also talk about the basic operating procedures and safety regulations."

The three teams have a total of seventy or eighty people. After removing the older ones, those with poor health, those with low education levels, and those who are unwilling to learn new technologies, the truly usable ones are probably in their early twenties.

It's obviously unrealistic to cram all twenty or so people into the comprehensive mining team.

The full-strength mining team only has 21 people. Each person has their own hole, and there's no room for even one more.

Han Changhe didn't respond to that question. After pondering for a while, he slowly said, "If you can really train the people in Team Three and let them master the basics, they will need to apply for and pass an exam to join the comprehensive mining team. If they pass, they can join."

"But let me make this clear beforehand: I won't go easy on you during the assessment. If you don't pass, you don't pass, not even if the King of Heaven himself comes. This equipment is worth over a million; it's not something to joke about!"

"make a deal."

Renye reached out his hand, and Han Changhe slapped it down, their rough hands clasped together in the twilight.

The two squatted down again, smoked cigarettes, and started chatting.

As darkness fell, a few dim lights illuminated the warehouse courtyard.

"I think you're born for electromechanical engineering. When are you coming to work? Stop wasting your days out there. You're getting married soon, you should at least have a proper job so that Sui'er and her family can have peace of mind."

Renye laughed and declined, "Let's discuss it further. Besides, you know my dad won't let me work in the electromechanical department."

Upon hearing this, Han Changhe suddenly snorted coldly, stubbed out his cigarette on the cement steps, and his voice suddenly turned cold.

"He's not preventing you from coming to the electromechanical department. He just doesn't want you getting too close to me!"

Renye was stunned.

He turned to look at Han Changhe, and asked suspiciously, "Uncle Han, what exactly happened between you and my dad?"